Multiple-die press.



c. P. HIGGINS. y f MULTIPLE DIE PRESS.

IIIIIII I.-

APPLIGATLONTILM APBIQ, 1912.

Patented Nov. 5,1912. I

' zanzara-SHEET 1.`

@mi/knew@ G. P. HIGGINS.

MULTIPLE DIE` PRESS,

APPLICATION FILBDAPILQ, 1912.

, SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J z i 5 J WZ al' I /l/y l/ Patented Nov.5',1912.

`ing the same.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

CAMPBELL P. HIGGINS, or RosELLE, NEW JERSEY,` AsSIGNoR To THE EAJscooxa WILcox COMPANY, or BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

MULTIPLE-DIE PRESS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CAMPBELL P. HIGGINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roselle, in the'county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in i Multiple-'Die Presses, of 'which the following is a specication.l

The present application is a division of an application led by me, Serial No. 422,595, iiled March 23, 1908, for header for water tube boiler and the process'for manufactur- In that application I have described and claimed, as an article of man-4 ufacture, a header for` water tube nboiler which I have succeeded in manufacturing by the use of a press described in the present application, and under conditions hereinafter described. In my' prior application I have also claimed'the process involved in such manufacture. In the method of manufacture which has survived for many years past, headers of this class have been welded; that is to say, have contained a welded seam extending longitudinally from end to end of the header and each end of the header has contained a welded closure; three separate pieces being employed in the make up of the header. The preferred process of manufacture has heretofore been to fold a blank around a mandrel until its edges lap; then to weld-the lapped edges together into a Welded seam extending from end to end; then'after it has been staggered, to insert a piece in each end and weld it so as to pro- Y, duce the Welded closure at each end.

tails of construction ofthe male dies being omitted; and Fig. 4, a longitudinal Section of the multiple plunger or male dies showing details of `their construction.

Similar reference numeralsv indicate similar parts in the Several'views.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

this application filed April 9,

of about twenty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit at which temperature it is introduced into and passed through the multiple dies shown in Figs. 1, 2 'and 3, occupying about eighty seconds in its passage. It' is then reheated to a uniform temperatur of abouti twenty-twdhnhdred degrees vFahrenheit in the gas furnace and introduced into and passed through a second press having two dies, occupying about forty-tive seconds-in its passage. It is then reheated in the gas furnace to a uniform temperature of about twenty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit and .introduced into and passed through a third press having two dies, 'occupying about thirty-five seconds in its passage. It is then reheated 4to about twenty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit and passed through a press having one die, occupying about twenty seconds in its' passage.

The dies are all lset in vertibalv position and the article passes upward through them and during its passage through each set of the dies a stream of cold water is kept playing' onto the closed end of the article to pre vent the end being punched outA by the pressure of the plunger. vAs the article -is forced through each matrix of the dies it has passed substantially out of control of the preceding matrix. The action in each matrix is es .sentially a transforming action as distin-V guished from a thinning action and the intention is that the space between matrix and -plunger shall be adapted to produce the reductionin diameter without any such thinning of the metal as occurs in drawing operations where the thinning of the metal is depended on for producing the transformation. If the tliiust of the plunger acts to thin the closed end at all, it is so slight as to be immaterial.

The reduction in diameter and elonga- This disk is first heated '1n a gas furnace to a uniform temperature tion throughout the series of passes is so gradual that, at the heat speciied, the transformation is accomplished without substantial flirting or other deformation of the cylindrical form of the side walls of the article.

'lhe article as it leaves the last press is reheated to about twenty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and by rolls its side walls are pressed into parallelogram form while containing a mandrel. While still hot, the side walls are pressed in a suitable pressinto sinuous form while containing a sectional mandrel. It is then cooled and the side walls are bored. It is then heated to about twentytwo hundred degrees Fahrenheit and the hand-holes are flanged by a machine known in the art. The open end of the article is next reheated to about twenty vhundred degrees Fahrenheit and contracted `by pressure to provide an opening for the reception of a nipple. llhe article is now complete andiconstitutes, as a new article of manufacture afwater tube boiler header, the side walls of which are substantially nonthinned and weldless, the ends being also weldless. Y. '1

rlhe multiple die pressthrough which the articleisrpassed and transformed is' shown in the accompanying drawings in which 'c is the matrix. which first acts upon the disk, its mouth is tapering and its body is cylindrical as shown.

forced through and beyond it.

b is a clearance space slightly larger in diameter than the matrix a and longer than the article formed by the matrix c..

c. is a-space in the form of the frustum ofa cone,`the sides of which taper inwardly at an angle'of approximately fifteen degrees to the vertical.

(l is'the second matrix which is cylindrical and approximately three-quarters the diameter of the matrix a.

e is the second clearance space somewhat larger in diameter than the matrix (Z and longer than the lengthof article produced by matrix d.

d is a plunger cooperating with the matrix d.

"lhe disk being placed on the. plunger a, as shown in Fig. l, is forced by that plunger through the matrix a into the position shown in Fig; 2 where the article is entirely within the clearance space b. Plunger a now stops and plunger al advances andby pressure upon the head of the article earries it olf of the plunger a and into the conical space c wherein the article assumes the conical form shown in Fig. 3, and wherein a` clearance space still exists between the side wall or flange of the article and the plunger (Z. I have discovered thatV under these .conditions and at the heat prescribed a is the plunger by whiclrl the disk is' and with an angle not exceeding about fifteen degrees, the diameter of the article may be reduced without substantially tluting thc side wall or flange thereof. lt is then forced by the plunger YZ through the matrix Z into the clearance space c and in doing so is made cylindrical. lt next receives its third reduction in diameter in the tapering space f and matrix g through which it is forced by the plunger g; the plunger d having come to rest in the l xarance space (f. The presses after the first, require modification of the male plungers or dies because of the length that the article has attained, but the matrices or female dies are substantially as shown in Figs. l, and 3 except that the second and third rpresses have two matrices each and the fourth press one matrix.

The acting surface of each plunger, in the press shown, is made as shown in Fig, l so as t`o be collapsed by the withdrawal of the article from it and these withdrawals are accomplished in the clearance spaces wherein each succeeding plunger, shoving against the head of the article, shovcs the article ott1 of the plunger previously in action. As illustrated in Fig.` 4 the outer surface of the operating end of the plunger a is constructed with serrations having inclined bearing surfaces which engage with coperating serrations upon the inner surface of segmental sections t, which are loosely mounted on the pressure end of the plunger and held in operative c'ontact by means of cross-pins e', extending through the wall of the plunger and rigidly fixed in the segmental sections z.. The plunger a is provided with guide slots to fit the cross-pins, and withrecesses to accommodate the heads. A shoulder is formed at the end of the serrations on the plunger a" and limits theI longitudinal and, expansion movement of the sections 7L, the ends of said sections resting against the shoulder when they have cxpanded to their full diameter.

Plunger Z is similarly constructed to plunger a', except the segmental sections are made longer than sections l1, to correspond to the increased length of the flanged plate formed by the plunger d. The sections are held in operative contact by means of cross-pins extending through guide slots in the wall of the plunger similar to the sections /L on the plunger a. Plunger d is operatively telcscoped into plunger af, after it has acted upon the blank. The serrations on the sections and the plungers are made suliiciently large to allow for sufficient movement to expand and retract the sections, and strong enough to stand the strain of the Hanging operation.

Plunger g consists of a*hollow cylindrical body having a flange on one end. T he pressure end is integral and an aperture in the center is made-for the convenience of assembling, the attached parts during Aits con# struction. The end of this plunger is coneform.

2. Cylindrical clearing space Z) loosely encircles the cylindricaliiange while., it is removed from plunger 'a' without strain.

Coni'cal clearance and reduction space .0, of approximately ifteen degrees, loosely incloses the flange and at the same time, very gradually reduces the head and lengthens the flange vIt is at the same time a reductionspace for the reduction of thehead and a clearance space'for the Han e. It is the clearance and angle in this ,reduction space that vafford the freedom and ygraduation whereby the enormous flow, backward and inward, of .the thick refractory Vmetal is attained without undue violence or strain. l

4. Matrix d reduces the langefto cylindrical form.

A5. Cylindrical clearance space e loosely encircles the cylindrical -llange while it is removed from plunger d without strain.

G. Conical clearance ang reductionspace f, of approximately fifteen egress, loosely incloses the llangeand at the same time very gradually reduces the head and lengthens the flange in a manner similar to the pre,

ceding space c. p

7. Matrix g reduces the flange to cylindrical form. i 8. These operations are performed on the wrought steel disk uniformly heated to about twenty-two hundreddegrees Fahrenheit, or

in other .words ata red heat considerably below' the welding temperature.

9. The collapsible plungers .permit removal at the end of each transformation.

quate freedom ofllow to permit of its transformation'without rupture or fatal luting.

lnsuiicient temperature, or excessive' anguv larlty, or absence of clearance "space, will prevent suli'icient freedom of How.

What I' claim and desire to secure by Let- Y ters Patent of the United States..iS:-

1. A press comprising a female die having aI matrix, a clearance space of greater diameter than the diameter of the matrix, a conical clearance and reduction space, and a male die or plunger. adapted for coperation with said matrix. l.

` 2. A press comprising a female die having a matrix, a clearancespace of greater diam* eter than the diameter of the matrix, and a conical clearance and reduction space oiless than 25 angularity, and ar -male die. ar plungeradapted for coperationwith said matrlx.

A press comprising a female die having a plurality of matrices and betweensuecessive matrices a cylindrical clearance space of greater diameter than the diameter of the preceding matrix, a conical clearance and reduction space' between each cylindrical clearance space and the succeeding matrix, and a plurality of male dies lor plungersv adapted for coperation with said matrices. 4. A press comprising a female die having a plurality' of matrices of 'gradually decreasing diameter, and between` each matrix a clearance space, each 'of greater diameter than thematrix preceding it, and a plurality of male dies or plungerso corresponding decreasing diameters adapted for coperation with said matrices.' A

In testimony whereof `I havel hereunto signed my name in the presence of two sub-l scribng witnesses.

M. E. MCNINCH, 'CHARLES SHIONES. 

